ScandiKitchen: The Essence of Hygge: Discover the essence of hygge as revealed by Brontë Aurell, Danish owner of London's ScandiKitchen

By Bronte Aurell

Discover the essence of hygge as revealed by Brontë Aurell, Danish owner of London's ScandiKitchen in this honest and thoughtful guide, which also features some of her favourite recipes from her books, The Scandi Kitchen and Fika & Hygge, to help you enjoy a 'hyggelig' time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ryland Peters & Small
• Release date: Jul 11, 2018
• ISBN: 9781788790055

Bronte Aurell

Bronte Aurell is a Danish entrepreneur, restauranteur and cook. Together with her Swedish husband Jonas, she runs the acclaimed ScandiKitchen Café and shop in central London. She began her career in food with Innocent smoothies, before moving on to run her own company. A keen cook herself, Bronte has been published widely in national magazines and newspapers, including The Guardian, The Times, Sunday Express, Olive, Hello, the Evening Standard’s ES Magazine. Bronte and her food have also featured on BBC Radio, Channel 4 and Danish TV. She lives in London with Jonas and their two young daughters.

Book preview

INTRODUCTION

A little over a year ago, the word ‘hygge’ first entered the English language. Obscure and unpronounceable, it was initially ignored and left in the corner, while people wondered what on earth it was, what to do with it and why anyone bothered taking it out of Scandinavia in the first place.

Then something happened. Mindfulness needed a buddy, the media needed the next big thing and hygge was just there, being relaxed and quite at peace with itself, not bothering anyone, not trying to impress anyone – just simply enjoying… being.

The hygge-whirlwind that has followed has been so uncharacteristic of good old trusty hygge, that it has ended up almost a shadow of its former self at times. Thrust onto a brightly-lit stage, into the glaring limelight, hygge has been the star, been hailed as a saviour of all things mankind – and even had blankets, sweaters and candles named after it.

Along the way, poor hygge lost some of the essence of what it really means. Hygge was hyped to such heights that new media eventually had to drop it – and now the hygge backlash has begun. As a friend put it: ‘Hygge is a lot less hyggelig now it’s for sale’.

The thing with hygge is that it isn’t complicated. It is all about being present in the moment. You know how to hygge already and you don’t really need anyone to teach you the basics. You most certainly do not need to buy any ‘stuff’ to be feeling more hyggelig in your life.

On the other hand, perhaps there is a reason you picked up this book in the first place. Hygge in its purest form is definitely something we are all longing to bring back into our day-to-day lives; to find a way to be present a bit more. Having a word for this in the English language means that we now have more power to consciously make it happen as and when we want to.

This book is a little pocket book about hygge. It is about what hygge is – and also what it isn’t. The book is filled with a collection of yummy treats to bake at home – treats to enjoy together with people you enjoy spending time with, because hygge in its purest form is simply about togetherness and appreciating life. Treats and hygge go together – and adding a home-baked cake to the table is a sure-fire way to slow things down, enjoy and just… be.

chapter 1

HYGGE AND… THE BASICS

Don’t hurry, don’t worry, you’re only here for a short visit, so sure to smell the flowers along the way.

WALTER HAGEN

THE WORD ‘HYGGE’

The word ‘hygge’ can be traced back to Old Norse, when the Vikings used the verb hyggja, which meant ‘to think and to be satisfied with’. The word also has roots in Old English in the word hycgan, which meant ‘to think and to consider’.

Hygge has been used in Norwegian and Danish for the past few hundred years, and it is widely understood across all of the Nordic countries. While the word is used in Norwegian today, it is used more frequently in the Danish language. A Dane will use the word several times every single day – as a verb used to describe seasons and feelings, something ironic or even scary.

The word ‘hug’ also has connections to the word hygge. Imagine the feeling of hugging someone. You can’t genuinely hug someone without giving a bit of yourself and letting go, even if it is just for a moment. That feeling, the split second when two people both relax into a hug, is similar to the feeling of hygge – except hygge isn’t over in a few seconds, but simply lasts as long as it lasts, with no defined time attached to it.

People often confuse the word hygge with the word cosy. Cosiness, however, is mostly defined and created by physical things around you, whereas hygge is a completely psychological and emotional state.

HOW TO PRONOUNCE HYGGE

‘who-guh’

How you prononounce hygge does depend where you are from, what language you usually speak and how you pronounce the ‘hy’ sound and the ‘gge’ sound in your own language. This is a good steer for a British English speaker, less so for a French speaker.

There is a slight variation between the Norwegian and Danish pronunciation of hygge. Few will even pick up on the variation, though, and if you use ‘who-guh’, you’ll be closer than most pronunciation guides of late. One thing is for sure, though – it never, ever rhymes with jiggy!

HOW TO USE THE WORD HYGGE

It is natural that when a word is adopted into another language, the use of the word will change over time. Does it matter how you use the word? Not really – a language evolves when the words grow and migrate into uses in other cultures. However the word is used outside of the Nordic shores, the correct ways to use it are as follows:

Hygge is a verb

To hygge, with r-added for when you are doing it.

For example:

We are going to hygge later.

We hygger now.

Hygge is often used together with common nouns

When hygge is used with a common noun it becomes hyggelig (or hyggeligt, as we have gender

specific words).

For example:

The cottage is really hyggelig.

We had a hyggelig time at the party.

Your house feels very hyggeligt.

It was so hyggeligt you could visit us today.

Plural

The form is always hyggelige.

Incorrect use of hygge

(if you are using a Scandinavian language base):

I’m going to have hygge now. (Correct use: I’m going to hygge now.)

Let’s go find some hygge. (Correct use: Let’s go and hygge.)

The room is hygge. (Correct use: The room is hyggeligt.)

I don’t like this café, it is just not hygge.

(Correct use: I don’t like this café, it is not hyggelig.)

The party was hygge. (Correct use: The party was hyggelig.)

OTHER WAYS TO USE THE WORD HYGGE

In Denmark, hygge is such a huge part of the culture and what defines the Danish people and psyche that it is referred to